Hapa Blondie
by Metallic Snow
Summary: - Based on a True Story - Lucy Heartfilia, half Japanese and half caucasian, is in Japan for a month to visit her grandmother and cousin. During her stay, she meets Natsu Dragneel, the idol at her cousin's school. In the beginning, she finds him almost prince-like, having a slight crush. However, she later finds out that he is actually a complete idiot. So much for a summer love?


**Note** : All conversations in this story are in Japanese but are written in English for the readers and also my convenience.

* * *

Narita Airport. I have finally arrived after the long airplane ride. I came here to visit my grandmother and cousin in Japan for summer vacation. It has been a while since I have been there. I stretch my arms. I am so tired from jet lag already. Right now, it should be around four p.m. in Japan.

I get my luggage and step into the train to go into Tokyo. I then transfer to a bus. It keeps rocking back and forth, making me even more sleepy. I try to stay awake to be aware of when my stop comes, but I am just so fatigued.

"Hayaku!" _Hurry up!_ I suddenly hear a loud shout from outside. "We'll miss the bus!" I rub my eyes and see a group of boys in uniform blazers, running after the bus I am in. The doors are about to close, but they all jump in at once, creating a scene. I notice that one of the boys has pink hair. That is odd. Are Japanese high schoolers allowed to dye their hair now?

Well, at least they woke me up.

I watch people go on and off the bus. Eventually, near the end of the stop, it is just me and the pink haired boy from earlier. I find myself staring at him until he suddenly makes eye contact with me. Oh crap. Blushing, I dart my eyes quickly to the opposite direction. Did I just get caught staring at him?

I watch him get off at the stop before mine. Well, at least that awkward situation is over.

My stop comes. I get off the bus and walk toward my grandmother's house. I ring the doorbell. Grandmother opens the door and looks at me with delight.

"My, my!" she says happily. "Lucy, welcome back. You have grown up to be so beautiful."

"Thank you, Obaa-san," I say.

"Now, now," she says, taking my hand. "No need to be so formal, my dear. Come, your cousin is waiting inside."

I walk in and there is dinner prepared for three. A boy with messy black hair is sitting on one of the chairs, writing on some papers, probably homework. He turns to me. "Hey Lucy-nee," he says with a smile. He stands up and bows, greeting me. "It has been a while."

"Romeo," I say, a bit surprised with his height. Last time I saw him, he was the shortest kid in his class, but now he seems to be taller than me. "Nice to see you again."

If I am correct, Romeo is fifteen, only a year younger than me. Here in Japan, I think fifteen-year-olds are in their first year of high school.

We eat dinner. Grandmother and Romeo warmly welcome me, making me feel at home. The food is also great. Back at home in America, I don't get to eat these meals as often. Maybe it is because I am only half Japanese, or as others say a _hapa_. A hapa is just slang for someone who is half Asian. I feel like I stand out a lot in Asia in general because I look so different.

* * *

I wake up in my new room at six a.m. due to jet lag and change into my normal clothing. I open the door and see Romeo running around, preparing to go to school. Eh? He is wearing the same uniform as the pink kid from yesterday.

"I'm leaving now!" Romeo shouts.

"It te rashai," Grandmother says. _Have a safe trip._

Romeo leaves. I guess Japanese students still have school even in June. I fan myself with my hand. It is so hot though. How do they even pay attention in class?

"Lucy," Grandmother says. I turn to her. "Come to the shrine with me, okay? To pay respects."

I nod.

We finish breakfast slowly about an hour later. Then we set off to the shrine together. Surprisingly, it is a very full. It seems like a school is having a field trip. Grandmother pushes me to the end of the bus, urging me to find a seat on my own since it will be a long ride. She easily finds a seat due to senior privileges.

I walk to the back and see one seat open. There is someone sitting on the seat next to it, however. My eyes widen. It's the pink haired guy again!

I sit on the seat. His friends are crowding around him, looking at some sheet of paper he is holding. Curiously, I take a peek. It seems to be an English study guide for a test. The terms look pretty easy, but then again English is my primary language so I'm biased.

"Hontoni muzukashi yo ne," he suddenly says to me in Japanese. _It's really hard, right?_ Luckily, my mother speaks to me in Japanese very often so I can communicate. But then again, she always tells me that I sound overly formal when I speak in the language. And my accent may show through.

Not wanting to embarrass myself with my poor Japanese, I just nod.

The boy laughs and looks at his paper, continuing to study with his friends.

Ah, it is my stop. I get up and meet my grandmother off the bus. We walk into the shrine and do all the usual things. But I can't help but wonder who that pink guy was. He seems to attend the same school as Romeo though.

At the end of the day, Grandmother and I prepare to leave. I go into my bag to search for my wallet, but to my surprise, it is not there. Crap. My heart rate accelerates in fear. Where did I put it?  
"Obaa-san," I say. "You can go home first. I think I forgot something."

Grandmother nods. "Can you pick up Romeo from school while you're at it? This shrine isn't too far from his high school."

"Ah, okay," I say. Grandmother tells me the address.

"Fairy High," she says. "Don't forget the name."

"Thank you, Obaa-san," I say. So Fairy High is the pink guy's school. I wonder if I'll see him again there. I shake my head and slap myself mentally. Wait, what am I thinking? I don't even know him. Why should I be curious about someone who I haven't even spoken to?

After looking for my wallet for about an hour, I still can not find it. I decide to give up. Although my student id and cash was it in, at least my credit and debit cards are back in the USA. I'll get a new id anyway for the new school year. No big deal. I only lost about 1100 yen, which is about ten U.S. dollars.

I walk over to Romeo's school. The sign in the front reads _Fairy High_. Looks like I am at the right place.

It is time for the end of school. I hear the bell ring and see students walking past me. All of them stare at me as they walk pass. I do stick out after all. Sometimes, I wish I was born with black hair, but I inherited blond hair from my father instead.

"Lucy-nee?" I hear a familiar voice say. "What are you doing here?"

I look over. It is Romeo. "Oh, Obaa-san told me to walk you back."

"Ah, she probably wanted you to get to know your surroundings more, right?" he says.

I nod. "Probably."

"Hey Romeo!" I hear from a distance. I see a group of boys, probably Romeo's friends, running toward us. They stop in front of us and wrap their arms around his shoulders. "Who's that cutie? Your girlfriend?"

Romeo groans, pushing their arms away. "No! Gross! She's my cousin, you idiots."

I bow to them, trying to blend into the manners here. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia. Nice to meet you."

"Woah," one of his friends say. He bends down to look at me. "A hapa cousin? You're so lucky!"

Another one of his friends sticks out his hand to me. "Hey! I'm Loke Lilicia. Would you like to date maybe? Or start as friends-"

Romeo hits him in the head. "Sorry," he grumbles, completely disregarding his friend who has fallen to the floor. "My friends are acting a bit gross."

"It's fine," I say with a nervous laugh. We wave goodbye to his friends and begin to walk back home.

"Heartfilia-san!" I suddenly hear someone shout.

Huh? I don't think I recognize that voice. I turn around and to my surprise, it is that pink-haired guy from earlier. My heart pounds. The sound of him saying my last name repeats in my head, making my face flush. He runs over to me and then stops, panting.

"Ah!" Romeo exclaims. "It's senpai!"

The pink guy looks at him and grins. "Hey Romeo!"

"How did you know my name?" I say.

He rummages through his pockets and hands me something. Ah! This is my wallet! Quickly, I grab it. I sigh in relief. Thank goodness. But, how did he find this? How did he know it was mine?

"I found your wallet and saw your student id," he says, running his hand through his hair. "I was about to turn it into the police, but I saw you from the window earlier so I ran here instead."

"O-Oh," I say. I stare at my wallet. Maybe that field trip from earlier was to the shrine too. People here are too kind. He even ran all the way here to return my wallet in this heat. I can feel blood rush to my face.

"Thank you so much," I say, looking shyly up at him. His pink hair is a bit drenched from sweat. His skin is tan and his eyes are dark brown. He is actually really good-looking. Wait, what am I doing? Staring at someone I just met. I'm so embarrassing.

"I'm Natsu Dragneel by the way," he says suddenly. "A second-year here. Where are you from?"

"Oh, I'm Lucy Heartfilia," I say. I point at Romeo. "His cousin from New York City. A junior- I mean second-year, in terms of Japanese high school grade levels."

Natsu nods. "Oh, I see. Your Japanese is pretty good."

I feel like my face is burning. "T-Thanks, Dragneel-kun," I say, bowing my head down a bit. "

"Hey, no need to be so formal," Natsu says. "We're the same age, right?" He turns back to the school with one hand waving at me. "Hope to see you around!"

Wow, he really is like a prince.

* * *

"Lucy, can you buy some groceries?" Grandmother says. "We ran out of soy sauce. Also, Romeo wants to have fish today, so get whichever one you want, okay?"

"Okay, Obaa-san," I say with a nod. I grab my purse and wallet, heading out the door. My face turns slightly pink when I look at my wallet, as I recall the events that happened earlier. Ah, no Lucy. Forget about it. I walk over to the closest supermarket. Luckily, it isn't too far. Now that I think about it, it has been awhile since I bought something using Japanese. I gulp. I hope my accent doesn't get laughed at.

"Oh, it's Heartfilia-san!" I hear someone say behind me.

I flip my head around and see that familiar pink head. "Dragneel-kun."

He walks over to me. "You here to buy groceries too?"

I nod. "Yeah, I need some help though. I don't know where anything is."

"I'll help you out," he says. He looks at my list and helps me buy my groceries. He is quite helpful. Without him, I would be taking so much longer just to find things. However, as we walk around, we barely exchange any words. For some reason, I feel a bit nervous. Maybe it is because I am with someone I just met. I look over at him to make eye contact with him. Ah, this is too awkward.

"Hey," he says. "Can I ask you something?"

"H-Huh?" I say, my face going beet red. "Yes, what is it?"

"Do you know how to use chopsticks?"

My mind goes blank. Did he really just ask me that? Practically everyone knows how to use chopsticks. Even people who aren't Asian know. It is common knowledge.

"Uh, of course," I say. "Who doesn't know?"

Natsu's mouth goes into a big **O** as if what I said was amazing. "Wow," he says. "How about Italian noodles? Is it true that Americans eat them everyday?"

Huh? My mouth opens wide in shock. Asking me this type of question, is he messing with me? Unless he is really that stupid. "Of course not," I say. "Where did you get that from?"

"Hamburgers then?"

"No!" I say. "In fact, I really hate hamburgers. They taste gross."

Natsu stares at me in shock. "How can you hate hamburgers? They are the best."

"Just because I am American, it doesn't automatically mean I eat those things all the time," I say. I think there is something wrong with this guy's head. I try to walk a bit faster, attempting to get him off my trail. Quickly, I grab the last of the groceries that my grandmother needs and get in line to pay.

"Hey, wait!" he says. "One more question!"

"What?" I say, annoyed. I get my wallet out to pay the cashier for my groceries.

"Do you eat rice?"

Can I just slap this person right now? I ignore him. I thought this guy was amazing back when he returned my wallet, but it turns out that he is a complete idiot. So much for being like a prince.

I finish paying a walk to the exit. He is still following me.

"I'll go myself from here," I say, walking outside. "Thanks for helping me find the groceries."

"W-Wait!" Natsu shouts. He grabs my wrist suddenly. My heart jumps in surprise. What in the world? "At least give me your number!"

I turn to him. "What?" I say, confused and flustered. "My phone won't work in Japan."

"Well, it works in the states, right?" he says. He takes his phone out of his pocket and hands it to me. "Just give it to me so we can keep in touch."

"Fine," I say. I just want to get him off my trail as soon as possible. And he probably won't let me go until I give my number. I take his phone and type my number quickly. Then I throw his phone back at him. "I got to go now. See you."

"Bye!" he says with a big smile.

* * *

I lay my futon on Romeo's bedroom floor. It is pretty late and I need sleep as soon as possible.

"Pst," I hear Romeo say. "Lucy."

"Go to sleep already, Romeo!" I hiss.

"So what's up with you and Senpai?" he says with a snicker.

"Huh?" I say. "Who?"

"Natsu-senpai!" he says. "You know, the pink-haired guy. He's my upperclassmen and the school's idol! Everyone loves him! You should see his fan club at school!"

Everyone loves him? The idiot that asked if I used chopsticks? The idiot who thought all Americans ate were hamburgers and pasta? Are we talking about the same guy? "I just lost my wallet and he found it," I explain. I can feel my face getting hot. "Really, there's nothing between us!"

"That's it?" Romeo says.

"Yes!"

"Really?"

"Yes, Romeo!" I say. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh," he says, a bit disappointed. "I was just hoping to have that cool of a cousin, you know? And if you and Senpai had a thing, maybe I would actually have a chance to talk to him. I mean, Senpai and I are friends, but not close."

"W-What? Are you out of your mind?" I say. Blood rushes to my face. "We will never have a thing! Go find another way to talk to him if you admire him so much."

Romeo sighs. "I don't understand. What don't you like about him? He's amazing, smart, and athletic! He can do practically anything! All the girls like him, so why are you so different?"

I groan. "Be quiet, Romeo. Go to sleep."

 **\- End of Chapter 1 -**

Hey guys! Welcome to my new story! Hope you all enjoyed it! Sorry it took forever for me to upload. This story is based off one of my friend's summer. I thought it was super cute, so I just had to make a story out of it! This will be around 3-5 chapters long. Please look forward to it~

And like usual, I do not own the image. All credit goes to the artist~ Whoever knows him/her, please let me know so I can credit him/her correctly.

 _ **~Metallic Snow**_


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